Tag Archives: Jesuits

There is a new auxiliary bishop for Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Presov, Slovakia, Jesuit Father Milan Lach. He is the first Jesuit to be elected a bishop during the pontificate of Pope Francis.

Bishop-elect Lach will join another Jesuit who serves as the Archbishop of Presov, Ján Babjak, 59. The archeparchy has more than 140 thousand people. Archbishop Babjak was just here in the USA making a pastoral visit.

Bishop-elect Milan, 39, has been the vice-dean of the the Faculty of Theology of the University of Trnava. Lach entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1995 and ordained priest in 2001. For 2 years he worked at the Centre of Spirituality East-West of Michal Lacko, where he was also the Jesuit superior. In the 2009 he was awarded a degree in spirituality at the Pontifical Oriental Institute and livingnext door at the Pontifical Russian College.

In 2010 he became a member of the editorial board of the theology journal, Verba Theologica.

Last Sunday, Pope Francis, as the bishop of Rome, took possession of his cathedral church, Saint John Lateran. This coming Sunday, 14 April, Pope Francis will take possession of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul’s outside the Walls in Rome.

A concelebrated Mass will be offered by the Pope, the archpriest, James Cardinal Harvey and the Benedictine monks to whom the pastoral care of the Basilica and the adjoining Monastery are entrusted. The monks are led by Abbot Edmund Power, OSB. He gives an interview to Vatican Radio (be aware, some of the abbot’s facts are wrong).

There is a historical connection between the Benedictines and the Jesuits. True the Benedictines about 1000 years old than the Jesuits but the historical part goes a bit deeper. The Pilgrim, as he was known, went to the Benedictine abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat in Spain, to make a general confession, keep an all-night in vigil before Our Lady’s altar, and to observe the rites of chivalry in preparation for his new life of being a converted sinner. There Ignatius left his sword and knife at the altar of the Black Madonna, he disposed of his fine clothes to a poor man, and adopted rough clothes with sandals and a staff of a pilgrim.

The Knights of Columbus are not allowed to officially exist on Gonzaga’s University’s campus because they don’t meet a criterion: that non-Catholics be admitted to the group. The decision by the University Student Life office was communicated by Sue Weitz with the help of Kassi Kain. The KoC is a fraternity (of men) who are practical Catholics.

The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 in New Haven, CT, by the Venerable Servant of God Father Michael J. McGivney. It is a lay-run organization. As a fraternal benefit society the KofC provides an opportunity for Catholic men to serve the local and universal Church by defending the Catholic faith and doing works of charity. As a group, the KoC also promotes patriotism.

By the same criterion, the Jesuits would not be able to be an official group on Gonzaga University’s campus. Imagine.

Perhaps it’s time to formally re-evaluate whether the Society of Jesus will continue –in good conscience–to officially sponsor universities such as Gonzaga which is quickly loosing its Catholic character. Surely this act of the University does not cohere with documents of the General Congregations of the Jesuits.

La Civiltà Cattolica is one of the Church’s most important journals of informed opinion. It was founded on 6 April 1850 by a group of Jesuits from Naples and therefore Italy’s longest running journals. It now has a new look and approach through new efforts at renewal motivated by Pope Benedict when he spoke with the Journal staff in 2006 when he said,

Here then, is where the mission of a cultural journal such as La Civiltà Cattolica fits in: active participation int he contemporary cultural debate, both to propose and at the same time to spread the Christian faith in a serious way. Its purpose is both to present it clearly and in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, and to defend without polemics the truth that is sometimes distorted by unfounded accusation directed at the Ecclesial Community. I would like to point out the Second Vatican Council as a beacon on the path that La Civiltà Cattolica is called to take.

The current pontificate of Francis will look to the Journal “to collect and express the expectations and needs of our time” and “to provide the elements for a reading of reality” that has “a particular attention to the truth, to goodness and to beauty.”

There are seven Jesuits full time work at La Civiltà Cattolica, plus another seven senior Jesuits who assist in the publication but it has an increasing international group of thinkers and writers. The journal has a print edition plus a digital presence.

Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, 47, is the editor-in-chief of La Civiltà Cattolica and he serves as a consultor to several Church organizations. Father Spadaro also writes a well-received blog, CyberTeologia.

La Civiltà Cattolica can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

In defense of the Pope, La Civiltà Cattolica‘s is understood to be supportive of the Church by following the indications of the Second Vatican Council. As a journal of the Society of Jesuit and the Church its work to show a relationship faith and reason, faith and culture, faith and science, faith and the public order;to understand the world in which we live in light of the Incarnation. The Journal cuts across the various sectors of the intellectual, spiritual and cultural ambits showing a particular attentiveness with the Catholic Church through the Secretary of State; La Civiltà Cattolica is considered to be not official but authoritative.

A significant Jesuit presence in key places for the Church’s ministry of proclaiming and living the Gospel exists that few may not be aware of. Since the time of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Society has done some remarkable things for the good of the Church. And every Pope since Paul III has relied on generosity of thinking and action of the Jesuits in Rome. Pope Francis has asked the Society to continue… Presence means influence.

Interesting stats:

12 Pontifical residences in Rome are staffed by Jesuits;

3 Pontifical institutions for higher learning in Rome: The Gregorian University, the Oriental and Biblical Institutes;

1 Radio center (Vatican Radio);

1 journal (La Civiltà Cattolica);

6 Jesuit cardinals: but only one of them participated in the 2013 conclave, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina). The other Cardinal entitled to participate, Julius Riyadi Cardinal Darmaatmadja, Archbishop-emeritus of Jakarta (Indonesia), was unable to attend due to ill health;

The Pontifical Gregorian University indicates that there are 57 Cardinal alumni of Jesuit pontifical institutions in Rome, the Gregorian and the Biblicum (49.6% of all participants in the Conclave). Several of them were also professors at the Gregorian University: Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, William Joseph Cardinal Levada, Velasio Cardinal DePaolis, CS, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio, and Walter Cardinal Kasper (not an exhaustive list.);

And other works coordinated by the Jesuit Curia under the leadership of the Jesuit Superior General.

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement, and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.